Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 24 announced the constitution of a committee to propose changes to “improve” the National Pension System (NPS) for government employees in a way that balances their aspirations with fiscal prudence, while steering the Finance Bill’s passage in the Lok Sabha amid Opposition sloganeering.
The development assumes significance as five Opposition-ruled States have already switched employees hired post-2004 to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) which guaranteed pensions, while the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance government in Maharashtra is toying with the idea of exiting the NPS. The Minister signalled that a new approach will be designed “for adoption by both Central and State Governments”.
“Representations have been received that the National Pension System for government employees needs to be improved. I propose to set up a committee under the Finance Secretary [T.V. Somanathan] to look into this issue of pensions and evolve an approach which addresses the needs of the employees while maintaining fiscal prudence to protect the common citizens,” Ms. Sitharaman said.
Earlier, when the Lok Sabha convened for the day, it was adjourned for an hour in less than a minute, as Opposition members started shouting slogans to demand a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani Group. Speaker Om Birla then adjourned the House until noon.
When the proceedings resumed and after papers were laid on the table of the House, Rajendra Agarwal, who was presiding over the proceedings, asked the Finance Minister to move the Finance Bill for passage.
While the Opposition members were in the well of the House with placards and were constantly sloganeering, Ms. Sitharaman insisted she would speak on a few issues even though there were “more things” to talk about.
Apart from the panel to “evolve” the NPS, the Minister spoke about the amendments introduced to the Finance Bill to set up a GST Appellate Tribunal, and a directive to the central bank on monitoring credit card usage for foreign tours.
“There are many more things which I would like to talk, but I certainly don’t want to take more of your time,” she said in conclusion. The Finance Bill was passed a few minutes later, while the Opposition continued to raise slogans.
